The importance of having a good coverage! In 2016, I decided to quit my corporate job in Switzerland and left anything behind in order to start my once in a lifetime adventure, a 2,5 years round the world trip. Initially traveling by backpack I had no idea that I would built a camper van myself in New Zealand or overland all of the Americas by adventure motorcycle.
By coincidence, a friend of mine just came back from Bali where she took a 1 year sabbatical. When she heard about my plans she urged me to take an international health insurance, just to be on the safe side. At the time, I was not totally convinced about how useful that would be for me, but I trusted her. Not sure about why I would need it, I anyway asked her who she would recommend. This is when I heard about Foyer Global Health.
Since I was planning to travel even remote areas of the world, and did not want to worry about the unexpected, I had to get the right coverage, at a fair price, with an insurance company that would not let me down when I most needed it. I could trust.
Antiipation is everything when you travel, and believe me I have a vivid imagination, but things where close to getting much worse than I had ever imagined. A rather stupid accident was really close to cause severe consequences.
Just before entering Luang Prabang in Laos, on a small motorcycle, the rain coat I had bought a couple of hours ago got stuck in the chain and consequently chocked me almost to death. The coat pulled me backwards, I heard my spine cracking a few times too many, and fell off my motorcycle.
It felt like the world stopped spinning and seconds became an eternity. I saw my life passing in front of my eyes and thought I would never be able to walk again. At the time, I traveled with my former partner who immediately stopped to help me getting back on my feet. Luckily, I could still walk and after a while I could even ride my motorcycle to the next accommodation.
Since it was impossible to sleep properly due to strong back pain I decided to visit a doctor and after researching on google the “best” option I went straight to the local hospital. I received medical treatment, an X-ray as well as muscle relaxant and pain relief medication.
I was relieved I did not break anything but it was time to take a break from traveling, I mean what other alternative did I have? Recovering for two weeks in a resort a bit out of town, I was fortunate to continue my travels again without lasting issues.
As you can imagine, this is only one of the many things that happened to me during the 2,5 years I spent abroad. I was unfortunate enough to have to learn it the hard way, but I sincerely hope that you will not have to go down the same route. Sharing this real-life experience with you is a mean for me to demonstrate how important it is to take your internal health insurance seriously, and to express my gratitude towards Foyer Global Health.
Should you be interested in knowing more about my trips around the globe, then please do not hesitate to visit my blog and to leave a comment. This is always highly appreciated!